King’s Make Impressive Debut at English Schools’ Water Polo Championships

Twelve boys from Lower Four represented King’s in the first round of the English Schools’ Swimming Association’s Water Polo Championships on Wednesday 21st January, marking the school’s first-ever entry into a competitive water polo tournament. The event took place at Northampton School for Boys and proved to be an exciting and memorable occasion for all involved.

The team was made up of Teddy C (Captain), Thomas E, Jonas H, Bryn L, Sam McV, Matthew P, Henry R, Harry C, Rufus P, Henry W, Rory T and Tom C, with Rook T providing valuable support from poolside. The tournament offered an excellent opportunity for the Year 8 boys who attend the King’s Swimming Academy’s water polo sessions to put the skills they have been developing into practice in a competitive environment.

The competition was split into two groups, with King’s producing an outstanding performance in the group stages. The boys won all their matches, including impressive victories against Bedford Modern School and King Edward’s School, Birmingham, topping their group and earning a place in the semi-final against King’s School, Grantham.

King’s made a strong start to the semi-final and quickly found themselves 3 – 1 ahead. However, King’s Grantham scored two late goals to level the match at 3–3 by full time, sending the contest to a penalty shoot-out. Despite a determined effort, King’s Grantham edged the shoot-out 3 – 2 to progress to the final. While the boys were understandably disappointed to miss out on a final appearance so narrowly, the match highlighted the importance of taking chances in attack and always maintaining concentration in defence.

The day’s action was not yet over, as a third/fourth place play-off against KES. Birmingham followed. Having already beaten KES in the group stages, King’s were determined to finish strongly. Despite falling two goals behind early on, the boys showed excellent resilience and determination to draw level before scoring several more goals to secure a comfortable win. This result ensured that King’s finished their first-ever water polo tournament in an impressive and highly respectable third place.

All the boys performed extremely well throughout the day and were a real credit to King’s. Being only their second competitive match, following their thrilling debut earlier in the month, they gained invaluable match experience and benefitted enormously from competing at this level.

The results from the tournament will now be added to a national database, with teams seeded for the semi-final round – fingers crossed for a favourable draw. Further details will be shared with pupils and parents as soon as the next round is confirmed.

Well done to all the boys who took part, and a huge thank you to Worcester Crocodiles Water Polo Coach and former GB Water Polo player, Lottie Martin, who kindly gave up her day to support and coach the team throughout the tournament.

If any King’s pupils are interested in playing water polo outside school, Worcester Crocodiles Water Polo Club run sessions on Thursday and Sunday evenings for players of all ages and abilities. Further details can be found on their website: www.worcestercrocs.co.uk.